Welcome to our seventh newsletter for 2025 aiming to bring you the latest in financial news and updates. This month Porter Garland Chartered Accountants focus on the following topics.
First our lead story:
PENSIONERS EARNING UNDER £35K TO GET WINTER FUEL CASH AGAIN: Chancellor Rachel Reeves has reversed last year’s decision to restrict winter fuel payments, confirming that pensioners in England and Wales with taxable incomes of £35,000 or less will again receive the benefit from this autumn.
Pensioners aged 67-79 will be paid £200, while over-80s will receive £300. Scotland and Northern Ireland run separate schemes.
The Treasury estimates the change will put about £1.25bn into pensioners’ pockets, after recovering around £450m by clawing back payments from wealthier recipients. Payments will be issued automatically by the Department for Work and Pensions and, where income exceeds the £35,000 threshold, HMRC will recover the full amount via PAYE or self assessment, mirroring the high-income child benefit charge. No registration is required, though an opt-out will be offered later this year.
The move brings nine million households back into scope after only 1.5m qualified last winter when eligibility was tied to pension credit. Tax specialists welcome the broader support but warn that the new means test could add administrative complexity and fresh inequities between single- and dual-income households.
Reeves said: “Targeting winter fuel payments was a tough decision, but the right decision because of the inheritance we had been left by the previous government. It is also right that we continue to means test this payment so that it is targeted and fair, rather than restoring eligibility to everyone, including the wealthiest.”
Talk to us about your finances.
And other stories:
UK GROWTH FORECAST DOWNGRADED BY OECD: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) expects UK economic growth to be slower than previously forecast. The Paris-based body has revised its UK growth forecast for 2025 from 1.4% to 1.3% and cut its 2026 estimate from 1.2% to just 1%.
EMPLOYER NIC HIKE DRIVES RECORD MAY JOB LOSSES: Early HMRC information shows UK payrolled employment fell by 109,000 (-0.4%) in May 2025, the sharpest monthly decline for four years. The drop pushed the unemployment rate up to 4.6%, its highest level since April 2021.
NEARLY 149m WORKING DAYS LOST TO SICKNESS IN 2024: UK sickness absence edged closer to pre-pandemic norms last year, according to new Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures.
WANT TO TALK TO AN EXPERT? Call one of the team at Porter Garland Chartered Accountants for advice on any of your financial matters – accounting, taxation and bookkeeping services. Or to keep reading, click this link: newsroundup-july25